The last time Harrison Ford played the president of the United States was in 1997’s terrorists-in-the-skies thriller “Air Force One.”

Now, he succeeds the late Oscar winner William Hurt as the dynamic President Thaddeus Ross in Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World.” It’s the fourth entry in the series with Anthony Mackie continuing in the heroic warrior role first played by Boston native Chris Evans in a blockbuster trilogy.

Marvel chief Kevin Feige expected that Hurt’s death in the spring of 2022 meant the character would be retired. But an enthusiastic Ford changed his mind.

In “Brave New World” President Ross bonds with the new Captain America and goes where no president has gone before as he follows the long-established Marvel comics trajectory to become the massive Red Hulk.

“I was very happy with the opportunity to play in this playground,” Ford, 82, said in a global virtual press conference for the film. “What an amazing group of people to work with! What an imaginative reality.

“I was looking forward to having a piece of the action. The character was a great fit for me and I was honored to be able to do my work on top of a foundation that a wonderful actor, Bill Hurt, provided for the character.

“And the story is a wonderful extension of the stories that Thaddeus Ross has been part of. I watched Marvel movies, seeing actors I really liked, really admired, have a great time. I thought, ‘Hey, I want me some of that’” – and he laughed.

“What I really think is essential is to make a film that for the audience is experiential.  That they participate in emotionally.  That they follow emotionally.

“And in the context of a film as action oriented and imaginative as this is, it takes a representation of humanity that is recognizable.  That is cogent. That is comfortable.

“Good guys and bad guys.  To allow the audience to be surprised by their engagement.  To not know where their engagement is taking them. I think this film has that in spades.”

As for what it felt like to unleash the fury of the Hulk, “I just went for it,” Ford quipped. “And nobody stopped me.”

His president is set to return in Marvel’s 2025 feature film “Thunderbolts.” With perhaps more of the monstrous Red Hulk?

“I hope he can come back.  I hope the story is one in which he can develop into something other than the Red Hulk.  I think we have the capacity to shift shape between Hulkness and humanity.

“But,” he added, “that’s really not my department.”

“Captain America: Brave New World” is in theaters Feb. 14